The Examiner and the Subject Behavioral Assessment Methodology

➢ Effects of Reinforcing Responses ➢ Reactivity

➢ Computer-assisted test ➢ Drift

administration ➢ Expectancies
➢ Subject variables ➢ Deception

➢ Statistical Control of Rating

Errors
What do we mean by positive
and negative reinforcement?
▪ Positive reinforcement is a process that strengthens the
likelihood of a particular response by adding a stimulus
after the behavior is performed.

▪ Negative reinforcement also strengthens the likelihood of a

particular response, but by removing an undesirable
consequence.
 inconsistent use of feedback
_____________________________________
damaged reliability and validity of test
scores
Sattler and Theye (1967)
✓ Several studies show that reward can
significantly affect test performance
✓ Reinforcement and feedback guide the
examinee toward a preferred response.
✓ random reinforcement destroys the
accuracy of performance and decreases
the motivation to respond (Eisenberger &
Cameron, 1998).
Who is the father
of computer?
▪ Interactive testing involves the presentation of test items on
a computer terminal or personal computer and the
automatic recording of test responses. The computer can
also be programmed to instruct the test taker and to
provide instruction when parts of the testing procedure are
not clear.
▪ As early as 1970, Cronbach recognized the value of computers
as test administrators. Here are some of the advantages that
computers offer:
excellence of standardization,
individually tailored sequential administration,
precision of timing responses,
release of human testers for other duties,
patience (test taker not rushed), and
control of bias.
 Conventional Testing

- examinees receive the same test questions in the

same order, usually a question at a time
Branched or Response-Contingent Testing
-a problem situation is presented to the
examinee with a number of alternatives
 Sequential Testing
-are typically used to make a classification
decision (e.g., to hire or not to hire, to graduate or
not to graduate, or whether someone is or is not
depressed) using one or more prespecified cutoff
scores.
What is the difference between
dependent and independent
variable?
 - Refers to characteristics that vary across
participants, and they can’t be manipulated by
the one administering the test. These are often
serious source of error.

- For example, gender identity, ethnicity, race,

income, emotions, and education
Illness affects test scores. When you have a cold
or the flu, you might not perform as well as when
you are feeling well. Many variations in health
status affect performance in behavior and in
thinking (Kaplan,
2004.)
Medical drugs are now evaluated according to
their effects
on the cognitive process (Spilker, 1996)
Facts about human’s behavior:
✓ Good morning and good night text messages activate the part of the brain
responsible for happiness

✓ Feeling ignored causes the same chemical effect as that of an injury

✓ Some of us are actually afraid of being so happy because of the fear that something
tragic might happen next.
Behavioral traits are the observable patterns of
behavior that are relatively consistent across various
situations.

Ex: assertiveness, emotional intelligence, resilience, attention to detail,

and decision-making style
- Focuses on the interactions between situations and
behaviors for the purpose of effecting behavioral
change
✓Personality Assessments

✓Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs)

✓Behavioral Interviews

✓Work Samples
Objectivity
Pros: Behavioral assessments can provide objective data
to help hiring managers evaluate their candidates.
Cons: While tests can help reduce bias in the hiring
process, they are not immune to bias themselves.
Determining which traits are “valuable” or “risky” is not,
itself, an objective process.
Predictive Value
Pros: Behavioral assessments can be effective in predicting job
performance and identifying candidates who are likely to succeed in the
role.
Cons: These tests are not foolproof. Why does an employee succeed at
one company but fail at another? The employee is the same but the
company’s product, support, culture, territory, etc. (and the economy in
general) all serve to complicate employee success.
Time
Pros: Behavioral assessments can help filter out
candidates who are not a good fit for the job, saving
time and resources in the hiring process.
Cons: On the other hand, these assessments take time to
administer and evaluate which can bog down the hiring
process.
Bias
Pros: Using behavioral assessments can help ensure that all
candidates are evaluated on the same criteria, which can
help reduce bias and ensure fairness in the hiring process.
Cons: No assessment can be truly free from bias. It’s important
for hiring managers to be aware of any potential biases and to
use assessments in conjunction with other evaluation methods.
Costs/Benefits
Pros: Behavioral assessments can provide insight into a
candidate’s work style, communication skills, and problem-
solving abilities, which can help managers make more
informed hiring decisions.
Cons: Some tests can be expensive, which may be a barrier for
smaller companies or those with limited budgets.
 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments
mandate the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) for disabled
students. However, one review of the literature showed that FBA was
used in combination with school-based intervention (Gresham, McIntyre,
Olson-Tinker, Dolstra, McLaughlin, & Van, 2004).
 “observes the observers”

- when individuals change their behavior due to awareness that their

behavior is being or will be measured.

- Their behavior might become more positive or negative, depending on

the situation and the people involved
-refers to the tendency for observers in behavioral studies to stray from
the definitions they learned during training and to develop their own
idiosyncratic definitions of behaviors despite observing the same
behavior.
Another potential source of bias is the expectancies
of the observers regarding the subject's behavior
and the feedback observers receive from the
experimenter in relation to that behavior. Several
studies suggest that observers who look for behavior
change are more likely to find it (e.g., Azrin, Holz,
Ulrich, and Goldiamond, 1961; Scott, Burton, and
Yarrow, 1967).
- The act of misleading or wrongly informing someone about the true
nature of a situation

-some believe that deception is necessary because it prevents

participants to behave in unnatural way

- When this is present in an assessment or studies it is hard to have an

informed consent and willingness of the participant to participate
 - Also known as the halo effect is the tendency to ascribe positive
attributes independently of the observed behavior. Some psychologists
have argued that this effect can be controlled through partial
correlation in which the correlation between two variables is found
while variability in a third variable is controlled.